


The Promise of Someday

by shipatfirstsight



Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Falling In Love, Post 5x11, ignores canon for the most part basically, no magic babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 18:49:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17106161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shipatfirstsight/pseuds/shipatfirstsight
Summary: Caroline is fully aware that she was testing him when she made him promise to leave Mystic Falls and not come back. Not testing the promise, but testing how strongly he felt for her. It was one thing for him to say he wanted to be her last, one thing for her to think that maybe, just maybe he might be in love with her. It was another thing entirely for someone to want her forever.





	The Promise of Someday

Caroline is fully aware that she was testing him when she made him promise to leave Mystic Falls and not come back. Not testing the promise, but testing how strongly he felt for her. It was one thing for him to say he wanted to be her last, one thing for her to think that maybe, just  _ maybe _ he might be in love with her. It was another thing entirely for someone to want her forever.

That was what she thought he might want. Forever. It was terrifying and thrilling.

She hadn’t lied to him. She knew she wasn’t ready for  _ forever  _ quite yet. Eighteen years, what was that compared to a thousand? His concept of time was on a different realm than hers.

So she’d given him what he wanted, what she wanted. What every boy in her life had wanted, truly, from her. Oh, she knew Tyler had loved her, or at least the parts of her he could stand. And she knew that without Klaus’ interference  _ they  _ wouldn’t have lasted forever. They might not have even made the decade. But she had taken a certain vindictive pleasure in twisting Klaus’ expectations.

That was her test. He’d said once he liked her because she was too smart to be seduced by him. And he’d been slowly seducing her ever since with his eyes and his words and the unwavering way he seemed to truly see her, and like what he saw. It was...intoxicating.

But she wasn’t going to let herself fall for him, in the future, when she was ready for all he had to offer, without knowing if he really wanted  _ her _ . Or if it was just the tease and chase he craved.

And she was so  _ tired  _ of pretending she didn’t want him.

Caroline had reason enough to hate him, true, and there were moments that she did. But there were other moments when she was blessedly alone, when she would let her hands wander, getting herself off on the memory of his voice and the wicked promises in his eyes.  _ You didn’t let me finish _ , she’d said once, and she sometimes shivered imagining what Klaus would have done if Stefan had not come back into the room.

It was so  _ easy  _ to cross the distance between them and place her lips on his. The rightness of it settling into her skin. And she didn’t want to stop, wanted to give in more, give him  _ more, more, more _ , was all she could think.

When the dust had settled, so to speak, he’d dressed slow, and she had wondered if perhaps he was as loathe to leave her as she was suddenly to let him go. Klaus had pressed one more lingering, slow kiss to her lips, something like wonder and grief intermingled in his gaze.

“I have a promise to keep,” he’d muttered as a goodbye, and then he was gone.

This was her test: if he’d bother with her after she’d given into him. Or if that was all he’d wanted from her. She had no pieces of her heart that would shatter if he didn’t want her now, but in the future, with time and distance to clear some of the debris between them? She might have risked all of her heart. Caroline wasn’t willing to risk it, not again. And not to him, when she could see...well, she already felt more for him than she’d felt for a lot of the boys who had filled her heart. It wasn’t love, what she felt for him, but it was certainly something she very much feared could turn into love. If this was it between them, it would be a pleasant, a  _ fantastic  _ memory, but it wouldn’t hurt her.

Klaus had called her two days latter. It was the first time she answered when he called, and she didn’t allow herself to think of the reasons for that. Surprise had filled his voice when she’d greeted him, and she’d smiled, secretly pleased that she could still throw him off. He hadn’t said anything about their time in the woods, just told her, briefly, about his day. And then he’d asked her about her day, had listened to her talk, and talk. She hadn’t expected him to be paying attention after awhile. Perhaps it was another test, another way to see how much he cared about  _ her _ . But he’d spoken reassurances or silly threats every time she paused, and she knew he’d been  _ listening  _ to her.

He hadn’t stopped calling. She didn’t always answer, and when she did, she didn’t always have time to talk to him for hours as they had that first time. He hadn’t always either, sometimes saying he’d merely called to say hello, other times claiming he was just making sure she didn’t forget him. It was...nice, if that was a word that could be applied to him in any circumstance. Klaus, detached as he now was from Mystic Falls, removed from all the drama, was a welcome person to talk to.

Her mother’s death had put a temporary standstill to their conversations. She’d turned her emotions off, and she didn’t want to deal with him. Didn’t want either his judgement to join her friends’ judgement or his encouragement. Caroline had saved the note from the flowers he had sent, though, his scrawl messy for once, taking up too much space on the little card.

When she turned her emotions back on--far before she’d wanted to, but apparently her friends could not give her  _ this _ \--she’s poured over the words, his ending lines.

_ I know it hurts now, love,  _ he’d written,  _ and I won’t say in gets easier. When you are ready to face this, the pain will still be there. But you are strong, Caroline, and when you are ready you will be able to face this loss. _

She answers the phone the next time he calls, and he lets her cry. Calls her friends stupid fools for not letting her grieve in her own way. She’s able to laugh, a little, through the tears. “I was killing people, Klaus.”

“I know,” he states and she just stops herself from sighing with relief when his voice contains neither judgement or encouragement.

Months later, she calls him for the first time. She wants to get away,  _ needs  _ to get away, and she...misses him. 

“I don’t want you in New Orleans, love,” he says, and she tries not to let that  _ hurt _ .

“Here I thought I had an open invitation,” she forces her voice to stay calm, happy, and light.

Klaus chuckles low in her ear. “You do, Caroline. Just not right now. It’s dangerous.”

He hadn’t said anything about danger, hadn’t rescinded any of his promises. She knows that he probably hadn’t though she’d want to come, so it hadn’t mattered. “I can protect myself.”

A low laugh again. “I’m fully aware. Still, the trouble down here might be a little much for you to handle. We can meet somewhere else.”

“Klaus,” she breathes, just that. Maybe it’s a test again, just as spontaneous as the last. To see if he’ll share his problems with her.

He sighs, sharply. “A group of witches have erected boundary spells, much like the one the travelers put around Mystic Falls. But they didn’t put them around the outskirts of the city. They seem to be localized to certain streets and buildings, but we haven’t been able to find them all yet. And some of them come and go. Any vampire that is not me or my siblings finds themselves quite dead.”

“Is it a good idea for you to leave New Orleans with all that happening?”

“No, probably not. But you’ve called me, love, and told me not only that you want to leave Mystic Falls--which I am honor bound not to enter--but that you want to see me. And I will hoard any time you’re willing to give me.”

“I didn’t make you promise to stay away from my college,” she says, the words tumbling out before she can stop them. And she determines to brazen on. “I thought you would have noticed the loophole I gave you.”

A pause from him; the silence between them charged as she bites her bottom lip between her teeth.

“You didn’t, did you? But I thought it was a given. You seemed to want your time there to be free from me.” There’s a murmur of other voices through the phone, Klaus’s voice muffled as he tells them to go away. “Did you want me to take advantage of that loophole, sweet? So you could make me stay away from there as well?”

She sighs, this time. “I don’t know, Klaus.”

“Ah, well. Name a city Caroline, aside from the two we’re currently in, and I will meet you there.”

“San Francisco,” she decides. She’d never really wanted to go to California, but she wants to get away from her friends without leaving the continental US quite yet, and it’s as far from them as she’s willing to get for the moment.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, then.”

She packs in a rush. Caroline’s not sure how long she’ll be staying or if she hopes for a repeat of their time in the woods. They’ve been...friends, these past months. Of a sort. She assures herself that they can be friends with occasional benefits if that’s what she decides she wants. She’ll make up her mind when she sees him again, she thinks.

She doesn’t tell anyone she’s leaving. She leaves a note in case her absence is marked and anyone worries, drives to the airport and compels herself a ticket.

Klaus is waiting when she gets to baggage claim, a bag slung over his shoulder, sunglasses tucked into the front of his shirt. He looks shockingly like a normal traveler, and she can’t stop the amused little laugh that slips past her teeth. He smiles, dimples showing, as he strolls over to her, eyes drinking her in.

“Hello, love,” he greets, and his voice rolls over her.

“Klaus,” she returns with a nod, grabbing her suitcase when it comes around.

He leads her to a car, a sleek, black sports thing. “Stolen?” she asks lightly.

“Mine,” he returns, just as lightly, packing their bags in the trunk. “I have a house out here and it is a pain to transfer cars. Easier to have one at each property.”

She rolls her eyes at him, slipping into the car when he opens the door for her. He keeps looking over at her, as they drive, though he keeps up with her steady stream of conversation.

“I don’t think it’s fair to call this a  _ house _ ,” she teases when they pull into a gated driveway.

“Not fair to who?”

“All the other houses.” It is huge, a mansion overlooking the ocean. He carries both of their bags inside, watching her with amusement as she explores the first few rooms.

“Would you like me to take you to a guest room, Caroline?” She hears the unspoken part of his question  _ or would you like me to take you to my room _ .

She shivers, a little, with the want that grips her. Licks her lips. “Your room will work.”

Sex marathon part two, as she takes to calling it, lasts a week. They manage to make it out of the house, but only briefly to feed and see a few of the sights he insists she must see before she returns to her life.

It’s only when she’s back in her dorm, the scent of him still clinging to her skin, that she realizes. She’d fallen in love with him somewhere between their sex in the woods and all the phone calls and this last meeting.  

She still answers when he calls, but something is stifled between them now. She knows he can feel it, his barely veiled frustration leaking into his voice more and more.

Caroline misses him, misses the easiness between them and the feel of his hands and mouth on her skin.

When summer comes, she books herself a plane ticket. Texts him one word.

_ London _

He doesn’t reply before she turns off her phone. But she hopes.

She gets there before him, this time, has the pleasure of seeing his face light up at the first sight of her.

They don’t speak much this time between the airport and his flat. When they’re inside, bags settled on his bedroom floor, his gaze finds her, searching her face for something.

“You’ve been distant since California.” It’s not a question, and he does nothing to mask the hurt in his eyes.  

“I may have feelings for you,” she admits, the words a rush.

The words shock him, she can see, but anger quickly takes over. “Do you trust me so little that you think I would steal you away at the first hope of more from you?”

She’s already shaking her head, cutting off any further questions of that line from him. “I thought you wouldn’t want me any more.”

“What did you think I meant,” he growls, fangs dropping in his anger, “when I said I was going to be your last love?”

Caroline threw up her hands. “How was I supposed to know Klaus? That you’d ruin me for everyone else when you were done with me maybe?”

“Oh, I certainly intend to ruin you for everyone else. But I very much doubt I’ll ever be done with you.” He’d drawn closer to her as he spoke, hands clenching and unclenching at his sides. He didn’t touch her, though, just glared through the words that sounded so utterly  _ sure _ .

And it was that, the promise in his voice, Klaus so clearly embracing what he felt for her that had her closing the distance between them once more. Taking the first step. “I don’t know if I’m ready yet.”

Steel in his gaze, “I am completely prepared to give you all the time you need.”

She nods. “I have my life, and there’s still things I want to do without you first. You have whatever plans you have. I don’t want us to become each other’s life. But I want you in my life, and I want to be in yours. And someday I’ll be ready to do everything with you and stay with you most of the time if that’s what you want.”

“What is it, love, that you want from me right now?”

She lifts her hand, runs her fingers through his hair. “ _ This _ ,” she breathes, stretching, placing a kiss to his mouth. “I want our phone calls and meeting every few months in a different city and having crazy hot sex in between you showing me the sights. I want to see where this leads us.”

“You were testing me,” he states, a furrow to his brow. But he strokes a finger over the curve of her cheek.

Caroline shrugs. “Can you blame me?”

A laugh from him, those dimples appearing. “I love your pretty little mind. So devious, to think to test me. And all I can think of is what we might plan together, someday.”

“Someday,” she agrees.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
